Goodnight, Irene by Jan Burke introduces Irene Kelly, set in fictional Las Piernas, where Irene Kelly works and lives. The story starts with her discovering her good friend O'Connor has been murded by a bomb left at his own front door. And all because of an unsolved, three-decades-old murder the blustery, big-hearted newspaperman wouldn't let rest in peace. Once Irene Kelly gave up journalism for public relations. Now she decides to take over O'Connor's stories back at the newspaper that she left 3 years ago. But the search for O'Connor's killer may prove fatal for the intrepid reborn reporter. Because a savagely murdered "Jane Doe" corpse from thirty years ago is pointing the way into a lethal maze of blood and politics. And in the blink of any eye it could be "Goodnight, Irene"...forever.

A truely excellent series, I don't know why I waited so long to read it. Several more to read as well, hurray!

Sweet Dreams, Irene 2nd in the series - Jacob Henderson, the sixteen-year-old son of a candidate for District Attorney, comes to Irene seeking help. He claims his father's opponent plans to use an incriminating photograph to accuse Jacob of being a member of a Satanic cult. Whether or not the accusations are true, there are disturbing signs of cult activity in Las Piernas, most of which seem to have some connection to a local runway shelter. The stakes are raised on Halloween night, when the body of Althea Fremont, Frank's next-door neighbor and founder of the shelter, is discovered surrounded by ritual symbols—the same night one of the residents of the shelter goes missing. Irene is soon ensnared in a trap set by violent adversaries and will it be Sweet Dreams Irene?

Books by by Alexander McCall Smith

Professor Dr. von Igelfeld
Portuguese irregular verbs
Von Igelfeld is the world's leading scholar on Portuguese irregular verbs, having written a majestic, nearly 1,200-page book on the subject. As one review says, "There is nothing more to be said on this subject. Nothing." But in other matters, von Igelfeld is not nearly so skilled. Whether haplessly playing tennis against an equally dreadful opponent, or committing his friends to swordfighting duels without their knowledge, von Igelfeld is somewhat naive in the ways of the world. Yet that does not stop him from having a go at life, and the results are always humorous.

Utterly delightful!

Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries
Sunday philosophy club
Isabel is fond of problems, and sometimes she becomes interested in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. This may be the case when Isabel sees a young man plunge to his death from the upper circle of a concert hall in Edinburgh. Despite the advice of her housekeeper, Grace, who has been raised in the values of traditional Edinburgh, and her niece, Cat, who, if you ask Isabel, is dating the wrong man, Isabel is determined to find the truth—if indeed there is one—behind the man's death. The resulting moral labyrinth might have stymied even Kant. And then there is the unsatisfactory turn of events of events in Cat's love life that must be attended to.

This series is very different that his other series but equally enjoyable.

Precious Ramotswe Mysteries
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Introduces new female detective named Precious Ramotswe of Gaborone, Botswana in Africa. She inherits money after her father died to start her own business. She is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witchdoctors. She and her little white van drive all over Africa helping people solve problems in their lives.

Tears of the giraffe
Precious Ramotswe tracks a wayward wife, uncovers an unscrupulous maid, and searches for an American man who disappeared into the plains many years ago. In the midst of resolving uncertainties, pondering her impending marriage to a good, kind man, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, and the promotion of her talented secretary (a graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College, with a mark of 97 per cent), she also finds her family suddenly and unexpectedly increased by two.

Morality for beautiful girls
Precious Ramotswe, founder and owner of the only detective agency for the concerns of both ladies and others, investigates the alleged poisoning of the brother of an important "Government Man," and the moral character of the four finalists of the Miss Beauty and Integrity Contest, the winner of which will almost certainly be a contestant for the title of Miss Botswana. Yet her business is having money problems, and when other difficulties arise at her fiance's Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, she discovers the reliable Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is more complicated then he seems.

Kalahari typing school for men
Now that The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (the only detective agency for ladies and others in Botswana) is established, its founder, Precious Ramotswe, can look upon her life with pride: she's reached her late thirties ("the finest age to be"), has a house, two children, a good fiancé -- Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni -- and many satisfied customers. But life is never without its problems. It turns out that her adopted son is responsible for the dead hoopoe bird in the garden; her assistant, Mma Makutsi, wants a husband and needs help with her idea to open the Kalahari Typing School for Men; yet Mma Ramotswe's sexist rival has no trouble opening his Satisfaction Guaranteed Detective Agency across town. Will Precious Ramotswe's delightfully cunning and profoundly moral methods save the day?

Full Cupboard of Life
Worrying about her upcoming marriage to J. L. B. Matekoni, Precious Ramotswe is confronted by the challenges of running her No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a terrifying request from the matron of the Orphan Farm, and a case involving an investigation into the would-be suitors of a wealthy woman to determine if any are fortune hunters. As usual all ends well but it does not feel like a clicque. I just love re-reading these books and enjoyed this as much as the first one.

This is a lovely series and I cannot wait until a new one in the series will come out. It is such a satisfying read, I think because it more about moral ethical issues that affect all us in life rather than just mysteries. We really see the characters develope.

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
We see the return of newly married Precious Ramotswe, with husband Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, his apprentices, and assistant detective Grace Makutsi in tow. The group embarks on another set of clever and amusing Botswana adventures that kick off with an intruder in Mma Ramotswe's home and proceeds to a succession of other dilemmas: Mr. Matekoni's apprentice Charliekeeps company with a mysterious older woman and quits his position, Mma Ramotswe and her assistant encounters a good-hearted man with a dark past, and Mma Makutsi reluctantly begins dance lessons with a stuttering stranger.

Blue Shoes and Happiness
There is considerable excitement at The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. A cobra has been found in Precious Ramotswe's office. Then a nurse from a local clinic reveals that faulty blood-pressure readings are being recorded. And Botswana has a new advice columnist, Aunty Emang, whose advice is rather curt for Mma Ramotswe's taste. All this means a lot of work for our heroine and her assistant, Grace Makutsi. But there's trouble brewing in Mma Makutsi's own life. When Phuti Radiphuti misses their customary dinner date, she begins to wonder if he is having second thoughts about their engagement. And while Mma Makutsi may be able to buy that fashionably narrow (and uncomfortable) pair of blue shoes, it may not buy her the happiness that Mma Ramotswe promises her she'll find in the simpler things--in contentment with the world and enough tea to smooth over the occasional bumps in the road.

Good Husband of Zebra Drive
As with the previous novels there are several cases going on at one time. But now the cases are shared with others besides Makutsi. Dr. Cronje, who's half Xhosa and half Afrikaner, consults Smith's sleuth, the gentle and insightful Precious Ramotswe, because patients at his hospital who have occupied a particular bed have been dying mysteriously at the same time of day. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe's recently engaged assistant, Grace Makutsi, threatens to break their longstanding association. Mma Ramotswe must adjust their relationship in order to retain Mma Makutsi's services. J. L. B. Matekoni also tries his hand at the detective business, catering to a rude client who suspects her husband of infidelity. The case prompts Mr. Matekoni to wonder whether he's exciting enough for his cherished wife. Charlie, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's older assistant branches out on his own when he buys a Mercedes from him with disastrous consequences.

Of course, no matter what dramas the day brings, Mma Ramotswe always has time to enjoy a cup of red bush tea and revel in the beauty of her native land.

Delightful as always and so nice to hear it read outloud as the reader is excellent. Plus now I have a better idea of how the names should be pronouced. One of my most favorite series

Holes by Louis Sachar Stanley Yelants IV is wrongly accused of a petty crime and sent to Camp Green Lake juvenial facility to work out his term. At this camp, that is neither green nor has a lake, he finds friendship, self-confidence, and dreams. A wonderful dreamlike quality as you feel like you are digging the holes with Stanley and the other kids. It is tied up very nice and neat but hey it's a children's book. Now I need to see the movie.

The Man Who Turned Into Himself by David Ambrose After losing his wife and son in an accident, Rick Hamilton finds himself inhabiting a parallel universe in which the tragedy has not happened. The trouble is that nobody believes his story when he tells them, not even his wife or his best friend, Harold. They want him to have treatment, to admit that he is mentally sick. Can Rick really trust them? What is really interesting is that the lines blur between whichever reality he thinks he lives in. At the end you wonder what is really real. A very thought provoking book.

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati. He along with the dead physicist's daughter Vittoria Vetra discover that the anti-mater that she created with her father has been stolen and placed somewhere in the Vatican. Meanwhile with the Pope's recent death the bishops have gone to the Vatican to vote on the new Pope, but the 4 favored Bishops have been kidnapped and their lives threatened while the clock is ticking. Will Robert find the anti-matter or will he be too late? A very exciting read, it only took me a few days most of which I finished half on the first day. Can't wait to read Da Vinci Code.

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon. 15 year old Christopher finds the body of his neighbor's dog, Wellingon, impaled on a pitchfork and is blamed for the killing. Christopher is a high-functioning autistic and relates better to animals than to people. He hates to be touched by any person and seems to not have an emotional connection to anyone including his family. He also doesn't trust strangers and hates people who lie as he feels that he always tells the truth.

He decides that he needs to find out who killed Wellington but ends up discovering a lot about himself and his parents. He has to decide if he can trust his parents after he discovers that his simple life is now very complicated. A very intense read as it is from his point of view which focuses on very minute details and mathematical equations. This is a British novel so some of the terminology is different. Highly recommended.

With a Vengeance by Eileen Dreyer features Maggie O'Brien -- A trauma nurse and paramedic who works one of the toughest EDs in the city. When people start dying who shouldn't be she starts to question the system. She quickly discovers that when she choices sides that she becomes an outsider and is on her own. When her own life becomes at risk who can she really trust. An interesting read, kind of dramatic but good. We mostly get things from her point of view but interspersed there are chapters of other's point of view that are anonymous which leads to the drama and suspence. I will probably read more by this author.

Chasing Shakespeare by Sarah Smith is a story about a self-professed "hick from Vermont," window installer/Shakespeare scholar Joe Roper who while cataloging an obscure collection discovers evidence that might refute the Bard's authorship of his hallowed canon. If Joe announces his find, it could make his career as a literary scholar-but it would also mean betraying his beloved mentor, Roland Goscimer, who's on the cusp of publishing part two of his long-awaited Shakespeare biography. Posy Gould, a flashy, aggressive Harvard student, who believes the Earl of Oxford is the author of the canon, jets with Joe to England to resolve the matter by sleuthing through libraries, graveyards, castles and stately homes-and, vicariously, through the glitter and duplicity of the Elizabethan stage and court. Smith, a Harvard Ph.D., knows academia can be as hazardous as cocktails with the Borgias and renders that world well, while making the Shakespeare authorship controversy as riveting as any film noir plot bursting with bodies.

Out of Sight by T.J. MacGregor deals with many moral issues. Human experimention is the major one and do we have the right to play god. Dr. George Nash has discovered how to make things and people invisible with the help of an indian named Luis. He manages to make a couple invisible but one (Logan) escapes while her husband Tyler is imprisoned. 3 years later Logan comes back to break Tyler out and destroy the project. A family camping accidently gets made invisitble as well and all hell breaks loose. A very fast moving and thought provoking book.

Slow River by Nicola Griffith Lore awoke in a dark alley, damaged and afraid. Who could she trust, not her family that wouldn't pay her ransome, until a stranger, Spanner takes her in and she starts living in the hidden dark side of society. Credible internet charity scams, kidnapping, fashionable designer drugs, sex, sadism, advanced digital porn, sabotage, information and identity theft are all a part of society and gives us a glimpse of what the future may hold. She discovers herself in both worlds and must decide where she will live. A very interesting read.

Nathan's Run by John Gilstrap is a sit on the edge of your seat thriller/murder mystery. 12 year old Nathan has been incarsurated for almost 10 months when he fatally stabs a prison guard and escapes. A the surface it looks like a run of the mill pyschopath teen but once you dig down things just don't seem right. How did he get a knife and what was he doing alone with the guard in an isolated part of the detention center. We see the story from several points of views, Nathan's, the cop on the case and as a third person. It isn't a long story but is packed with uncertainty as you wonder if anyone will listen to Nathan's side? I got kind of frustrated with this edge of your seat drama but I did enjoy listening to it on tape.

Discrete Charm of Charlie Monk by David Ambrose Charlie monk is the ultimate superhero. He has no fear. He has no conscience. And he has no memory of his past. Meanwhile Dr Susan Flemyng. a biologist specialising in brain diseases, has found a way to transplant artificial memories into the minds of her patients. But her discovery has already found its way into the wrong hands and it seems that Charlie is in fact some kind of bionic military guinea pig. As you read from both their points of views I found it hard to determine what was real and what wasn't. Ambrose is quite the storyteller and with a twist at the end you just don't know what to believe. I will defintely read more by this author. He is fabulous.

Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz - Fourteen-year-old Alex continues his work as a spy for the British MI6, investigating an exclusive school for boys in the French Als. Sixteen boys in a remote boarding school are suddenly all acting well-behaved and studious, but something's not right. Full of heart-pounding adventure, this sequel to "Stormbreaker" is a thrill ride and mystery all in one. It is like James Bond for teens. Lots of adventure and excitement. I listened to this on tape and will go back and read the first in the series.

Elizabeth Chase & Tom McGowan series by Martha C. Lawrence
I love this series. It is so well written and developed. Plus since I lived in San Diego when these books were written it's like a visit home.

Book 1 - Murder in Scorpio introduces Psychic P.I. Elizabeth Chase when Escondio police sergeant Tom McGowan asks to investigate what looks like a car accident involving an old friend, Janice Freeman. He has been seeing ghosts at other accidents and his gut is telling him that Janice was murdered even though it looks like a tragic case of a drunk driver hitting her car. But who would want to murder a friendly woman who was studying to become a lawyer. As Elizabeth tries to piece together the clues she becomes more and more attracted to Tom but can she trust her gut instincts and not get herself killed. Lots of spooky elements and I enjoy the supernatural aspects of this series. Plus it is set in the San Diego area.

Book 2 - Cold Heart of Capricorn - An increasingly violent rapist has been terrorizing San Diego, but the lack of physical evidence at the scenes gives the police very little to go on. Dubious but desperate as the rapist edges toward committing murder, the cops turn to Elizabeth for paranormal help. Her first step is to hypnotize the victims, hoping to unearth clues buried in their subconscious memories. Success seems imminent, but when her interpretations have devastating results, Elizabeth steps back from the case--only to find herself getting closer and closer to the deadly conclusion.

Book 3 - Aquarius Descending - Elizabeth Chase is hired to find a woman who's disappeared into a secretive New Age cult. Some members seem to have psychic abilities but it is hard to tell who is real and who is good at pretending. This was more difficult as some characters are killed in this pageturner.

Book 4 - Pisces Rising. Elizabeth Chase's lover has been killed in a showdown between cult leaders and the FBI, and she no longer trusts her own extrasensory gifts. But when an old friend asks for help in solving the murder and scalping of a casino owner at Mystic Mesa on the Temecu Indian reservation in the California desert, Elizabeth is persuaded to get involved. She soon finds herself drawn to a charismatic--and strangely familiar--Native American shaman whose strange gifts awaken and energize her own. Another gripping addition to excellently written series.

Book 5 - Ashes to Aries - Chase is called in on the case of a San Diego telecommunications mogul's missing four-year-old son. When a wildfire breaks out in the secluded community where the boy's family lives, Elizabeth finds that man, not nature, is responsible and tries to determine if the kidnapper and arsonist are the same person. This is the first book I have read by Martha Lawrence but will defintely read the rest. Very fast paced and you felt the flames during the fire scenes.

An Embarrassment of Corpses by Alan Beechey - When children's book author Oliver Swithin, reluctant creator of the notorious "Finsbury the Ferret," finds an old friend's body floating in a Trafalgar Square fountain, he can't convince the police to treat the death as a murder. But when more corpses turn up daily it seems that there is a serial killer about using astrology to find his victims. But is it as basic as it seems? Only Oliver'S uncle, Detective Superintendent Tim Mallard sees the true pattern.

An excellent mystery. Unfortunately the copy I read was misbound with the pages out of order so I was constantly having to see what page I was on. Luckily it was only the last quarter of the book. I really enjoyed the characters and the mystery as it had me stumped. I will defintely read more of this series.

Bk 2: Murdering Ministers brings back our favorite children's author Oliver Swithin, his uncle Mallard and his now girlfriend Detective Sergeant Effie Strongitharm now at Christmas time. Oliver is interviewing a childhood friend who is now a minister for local church. Effie tries to find a runaway teenager and winds up as an eyewitness to Murder in the Church. Is there a connection? And will finding it reveal who stuck strychnine in the sacraments? Hysterical to the end and again not obvious who dun it! I can't wait to read another in the fun series.

Beechey's website is fun to read to learn more about his books and characters.

Jemima J. by Jane Green - Jemima Jones is not happy with her life. She is overweight, lives with two room mates she despises, works a job she hates, Ben, the man she loves, only wants to be her friend and there seems to be no hope in sight. Then she discovers the Internet where you can be whoever you want to be and changes her name to JJ. After meeting Brad from LA online Jemima decides to become in reality the person she has been pretending to be online, thin athletic popular and a news presenter. After joining a local gym and practically starving herself she loses over 100 lbs. in a matter of months. She then flies out to Los Angeles to meet the new man of her dreams, who more than meets her expectations. But as is with most of life nothing as it appears. Will she ever find happiness? Find out by reading this funny book, very similar to Bridget Jones' Diary.

In the Shadow of the Moon by Karen White is a time travel / romance. Laura Trutt lives in the 20th Century but after losing her 2 year old daugther,Annie, on the mysterious Moon Mountain and her husband dying a year later she has little to live for. So after 5 years she decides to go back to Moon Mountain and finds herself in midts of the Civil War where it is brother against brother. She meets and falls in love with the handsome Stuart Elliott and finds her lost daughter who has little memory of her previous life or her mother. Will she take Annie back with her to the 20th Century and can she deal with the heartache she feels.

This is very similiar to Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. But it was much shorter and it was an easy read. Though I got a little annoyed by how easy it was to find her daugther and her way back and forth between time periods. But an enjoyable read.

Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde This utterly delightful book is set in the U.K., in an alternate version of our universe-one in which time travel is possible and the boundaries between life and literature are porous. Thursday works for Special Ops in the Literary Detectives and battles an archvillain who's kidnapping characters from classic literature.

If you like the books by Connie Willis especially _To say nothing of the dog, or, How we found the bishop's bird stump at last_ then you will love this one.

Lost in a Good Book is the 2nd in the series. Det. Thursday Next is back for another round of time traveling and bookish sleuthing. She's made an enemy of the corrupt Goliath Corporation, which manufactures absolutely everything, by imprisoning one of its executives, Jack Schitt, in the pages of Poe's The Raven. In return, the corporation eradicates her new husband, Landen. Since no one really dies in this chronologically fluid universe, Landen could be restored-but Goliath won't do it until Thursday brings back Schitt. But rescuing Schitt is easier said than done-Poe's oeuvre is dangerous territory. Thursday enlists the help of Great Expectations' Miss Havisham, who works for the intra-literature police force, Jurisfiction, and the two leap into the pages of Kafka's The Trial, Austen's Sense and Sensibility and Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Thursday also finds time to authenticate Cardenio, a newly discovered Shakespeare tragedy, and save the world from being engulfed by an oozing pink sludge. Time flies-and leaps and zigzags-while reading this wickedly funny and clever fantasy. And of course it has ended with a cliff hanger ending when Next literally loses herself in a good book. Aaakkk!!!!

Well of Lost Plots I got this when I went to Montreal in Dec. 2003. I couldn't wait until it was released here in the U.S. Sometime in 2004. A very pregnant Tuesday Next once again does battle with philistine bibliophobes, taking a furlough from her duties as a SpecOps Literary Detective to vacation in the Well of Lost Plots, the 26 noisome sub-basements of the Great Library. Pursued by her memory-modifying nemesis Aornis Hades, Thursday joins Jurisfiction's Character Exchange Program, filling in for "Mary," sidekick to the world-weary detective hero of Caversham Heights, a hilariously awful police procedural. At the imminent launch of UltraWord, the vaunted "Last Word" in Story Operating Systems, Thursday's friend and mentor Miss Havisham is gruesomely killed, and Thursday gamely sets out to restore order to her underground world, where technophiles ruthlessly recycle unpublished books and sell plot devices and stock characters on the black market. Per ususal Tuesday creates havoc wherever she goes. Picks up where it left off in Bk 2. Now I can't wait until Bk 4.

Something Rotten is supposidly coming out in August 2004 both in the U.S. and the U.K. I can't wait! I hope she finally remembers Landen (eradicated in Bk. 2) and that she is married to him and gets him back.

Louisiana Bigshot by Julie Smith introduces african american Talba Wallis, budding PI, computer genius and by night the Baroness de Pontalba, a glamorous poet and performance artist. Talba was introduced in a Skip Langdon mystery 82 Desire. After totally her car, Talba gets a massage from friend Babalu who asks her to investigate her fiance who she fears is cheating on her. Talba gets the dirt on the boyfriend and four days later Babalu is dead of a heroin overdose. Is it suicide or murder? Babalu's boyfriend is convienced that it is murder so hires Talba to find out who would wand Babalu dead. Talba find out family secrets that go all the way up to the governor's elections.

Talba also unearth's some family secrets of her own. She finds out she has a younger sister and tracks her down to unsatisfactory conclusion. A lot happens in this mystery set in New Orleans. There is Talba's relationships with her family, her boss, Eddie Valentino and a host of other interesting characters. I enjoyed reading it but wouldn't put it on my list of favorites. I would read the next one just to see.

Learning to Fly by April Henry The chaotic scene of a huge, fiery chain-reaction car accident leaves Free Meeker in the possession of someone else’s bag and the hitchhiker she has just picked up dead. By the next morning, 19-year-old Free, daughter of aging hippies, has discovered that the bag contains nearly a million dollars - and that the hitchhiker’s body has been identified as hers. Fate seems to be handing her the chance to make her life over. But when the owner of the drug money realizes it didn’t burn up in the fire, things get complicated. And things only get worse when the hitchhiker’s stalking husband decides that Free must be some do-gooder hiding his wife. It is an interesting story plus it it told from several different points of view including Free's.

I really like April Henry's books - not just because we share the same first name. Her other titles are fun because she uses vanity license plate as the ending for each chapter. It is sometimes a challenge to figure out what each one stands for and how it pertains to the chapter.